Swim -- 19:31 Augusta 70.3 started off great. Instead of lining up with all the other athletes I opted to stay to the far right and have clean water to start the swim. I wanted to avoid all the fighting and wrestling that can go on at the start of pro men's race. The gun sounded and I took off. I could see the fastest swimmer in the group Kyle Leto to my left and slowly worked my way towards his feet. By 400 meters into the swim I was on Kyle's feet and we were off the front. About 600-700 meters we hit a patch of kelp and Kyle accelerated. Unfortunately I got a bit tangled up with the kelp and Kyle swam away. I continued to swim well and exited the water about 30 seconds down on Kyle but about 1:00 ahead of the main contenders.
Bike -- 2:14:18
Leading up to the race I was worried about the bike. I was riding a borrowed Cervelo P4. The P4 is a super fast bike but this P4 was a size 51cm and my P3 is a size 54cm. After making some adjustments and taking it out for a few training spins I thought I was set to go. All was well for the first 25 miles or so, I was riding strong and sitting in either second or third place (Kyle Leto had gone off the front). So far this was my beset performance at a competitive 70.3 field. I was riding with the some of the best athletes and holding my own. However, about mile 35 my hip flexers and hamstrings began to cramp. I tried to work them out by spinning and standing but nothing seemed to work. At mile 40, the group accelerated and I cramped badly. As my hamstrings cramped, I could not keep the pace and the group rode away. Coming into T2 I was still in 8th place and had a decent lead over 9th and 10th. However, getting off the bike I cramped very badly. My hamstrings were absolutely done. After about a minute struggle to put my shoes on, I attempted to start the run.
Bike -- 2:14:18Leading up to the race I was worried about the bike. I was riding a borrowed Cervelo P4. The P4 is a super fast bike but this P4 was a size 51cm and my P3 is a size 54cm. After making some adjustments and taking it out for a few training spins I thought I was set to go. All was well for the first 25 miles or so, I was riding strong and sitting in either second or third place (Kyle Leto had gone off the front). So far this was my beset performance at a competitive 70.3 field. I was riding with the some of the best athletes and holding my own. However, about mile 35 my hip flexers and hamstrings began to cramp. I tried to work them out by spinning and standing but nothing seemed to work. At mile 40, the group accelerated and I cramped badly. As my hamstrings cramped, I could not keep the pace and the group rode away. Coming into T2 I was still in 8th place and had a decent lead over 9th and 10th. However, getting off the bike I cramped very badly. My hamstrings were absolutely done. After about a minute struggle to put my shoes on, I attempted to start the run.
Run -- DNF
My legs did not cooperate today. The different bike and angles were too much for hamstrings and hip flexers. I simply could not run. Lesson learned, race my bike and my bike only...
Rev3 South Carolina on October 9 is the next key race.
